Made-in-Miami Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, who together form the Friends with You gang, are opening up the books at MoCA at the Goldman Warehouse with "Cloud City," a mind-blowing interactive romper room they've created to juice jamooks off of our mean streets with some childlike badda-bing.
Since getting connected in 2002, Borkson and Sandoval have participated in more than twenty international exhibitions, spreading their brand of infectious verve and irrepressible buoyancy worldwide. "This artist collaborative was created with one basic concept in mind and that is to become Friends with You," they explain.
Their large-scale installation features an otherworldly playground using oversize geometric forms and a pinwheel of colors designed to infuse adults with an unbridled desire to cut loose repressed creativity, and includes ritualistic and interactive performances.
"We have giant balls, cylinders, and extruded circles in shiny reflective colors and slides twelve feet high, including an awesome sound piece, and are trying to create a surreal playground and neo-tribal vibe where everyone can celebrate their natural creativity," Borkson beams.
The wacky wise guys hijack their influences from world religions, science, and popular visual culture.
"The central figure in the installation is the boy, an archetype that embodies youth and naive creativity," Borkson says. "We will be wearing costumes of the boy and helping people to tap into a creative vibe, basically serving as a crazy conduit or vortex so participants can feel like they're in some sort of giant videogame."
Borkson and Sandoval have expressed beef with mass culture and have moved into interior design, film, toys, and graphics as commentary on the mass-marketing racket, recruiting fanatic followers in New York, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, and Tokyo.
Our Friends have been commissioned by Nike to film Mr. Wizard: The Legend of Speed and have created a gargantuan vortex of plush dolls, "Aqui Uzumaki," for the HPGRP Hanna Gallery in Japan.
The artists are gunning to make a splash with "Cloud City." "We want more than just the scruffy art people to come," Borkson snorts. "We want families from Kendall and anyone who feels like playing to hook up with us."
